REG - Savannah Resources - Restart of Fieldwork & Aldeia Mining Lease Awarded

Savannah ResourcesAnnouncement

12/12/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 7818P  Savannah Resources PLC  12 December 2024

 

 

12 December 2024

Savannah Resources Plc

(AIM: SAV) ('Savannah', or the 'Company')

 

Savannah to initiate next phase of fieldwork; Project receives second Mining
Lease; Portugal launches new Critical Raw Materials Action Plan

 

Savannah Resources Plc, the developer of the Barroso Lithium Project (the
'Project') in Portugal, Europe's largest spodumene lithium deposit, is pleased
to announce that several important milestones for the Project and the wider
critical raw materials sector in the country have been passed in recent days.

 

Most significantly, the temporary land access process (see Interim Results
RNS, 30 September 2024), which grants Savannah immediate access to land on the
Project's C-100 Mining Lease which it does not already own, has now been
completed. This will allow Savannah to undertake fieldwork and drilling
required to advance the Project's Definitive Feasibility Study ('DFS') and
environmental licencing process.

 

Highlights:

·    Barroso Lithium Project - temporary land access granted: All relevant
stakeholders and landowners have been informed, more than half of the total
compensation fees have been paid already, and the required notice has been
published in the government's official gazette (Diário da República).
Savannah now has the right to immediately access the land concerned on the
Project's C-100 Mining Lease allowing it to conduct the fieldwork, including
the second phase of drilling, required to advance the DFS and environmental
licencing process. Savannah reiterates its previous guidance for completion of
the DFS and environmental licencing process in H2 2025.

·    Barroso Lithium Project - Aldeia Mining Lease awarded: A Mining Lease
has been awarded on the three-block 'Aldeia Mining Lease Application' area
(Blocks A, B & C, total 2.94km(2)) adjacent to the C-100 Mining Lease. A
JORC (2012) compliant Mineral Resource Estimate of 3.5Mt at 1.3% Li(2)O was
published for one deposit on Block A in May 2019 and this 'Aldeia' resource
featured in the June 2023 Project Scoping Study. Savannah exercised an option
to acquire the Aldeia Mining Lease Application area in June 2019 1  (#_ftn1) .

·   New Critical Raw Materials Action Plan: The Portuguese Government's
European Regulation of Critical Raw Materials Working Group (GT-REMPC),
launched its new plan to develop the country's critical raw material resources
last week. The key aspects, which will be implemented from Q1 2025 onwards,
include:

·    Granting of 'PIN' (Project of National Interest) status to strategic
projects.

·    The Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade of Portugal (AICEP), the
Portuguese Development Bank (BPF) and the Agency for Competitiveness and
Innovation (IAPMEI) are to provide financial support to develop the sector.

·   The planned lithium prospecting tender process will take place over the
six areas previously identified. Separate tenders are also planned for copper
and gold.

 

Savannah's CEO, Emanuel Proença, said, "After the confirmation of eligibility
for support from the German Government last week, these are important
developments in the right direction. Fieldwork in particular, with a
reinforced legal right of access now granted, gets our project closer to DFS,
environmental compliance and execution. We are grateful for this latest
endorsement of the Project, which follows the fully transparent approach we
have taken around land acquisition and access and our significant efforts to
engage with stakeholders. We will also continue with the commercial
negotiations on land purchases and leases for as long as is practical to
maintain the Project's schedule, and in that regard we are happy to announce
that work is well advanced on the acquisition of another 7 land plots.

 

"The award of the Aldeia Mining Lease and the launch of the new national
Critical Raw Materials Action Plan further reiterate Portugal's commitment to
the development of its critical minerals industry as a whole, and in
particular its lithium battery value chain. We welcome these actions by the
authorities and share their determination to develop these new industries in a
timely and responsible manner for the benefit of all stakeholders, at a time
when Europe, its economy and its automotive industry surely need responses and
concrete action.

 

"Savannah now expects to generate significant news flow as we look forward,
into 2025. We expect the technical work we are undertaking to provide the
market with a fresh perspective on the underlying value of our Project and
culminate in us achieving our key goals of completing the DFS and
environmental licencing process during H2 2025. The team and I are looking
forward to providing regular updates going forward as we complete this
exciting work."

 

Regulatory Information

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law
by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is
disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of
MAR.

 

Savannah - Enabling Europe's energy transition.

 

**ENDS**

Follow @SavannahRes on X (Formerly known as Twitter)

 

Follow Savannah Resources on LinkedIn

 

For further information please visit www.savannahresources.com or contact:

 

 Savannah Resources PLC                                                  Tel: +44 20 7117 2489

 Emanuel Proença, CEO

 SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Advisor & Joint Broker)       Tel: +44 20 3470 0470

 David Hignell/ Charlie Bouverat (Corporate Finance)

 Grant Barker/Abigail Wayne (Sales & Broking)

 SCP Resource Finance (Joint Broker)                                     Tel: +44 204 548 1765

 Filipe Martins/Chris Tonkin

 Camarco (Financial PR)                                                  Tel: +44 20 3757 4980

 Gordon Poole/ Emily Hall / Nuthara Bandara

 LPM ( Portugal Media Relations)                                         Tel: +351 218 508 110

 Herminio Santos/ Jorge Coelho/ Margarida Pinheiro

 

 

About Savannah

Savannah Resources is a mineral resource development company and the sole
owner of the Barroso Lithium Project (the 'Project') in northern Portugal, the
largest battery grade spodumene lithium resource outlined to date in Europe.

 

Through the Project, Savannah will help Portugal to play an important role in
providing a long-term, locally sourced, lithium raw material supply for
Europe's lithium battery value chain. Once in operation the Project will
produce enough lithium (contained in c.190,000tpa of spodumene concentrate)
for approximately half a million vehicle battery packs per year, and hence
make a significant contribution towards the European Commission's Critical Raw
Material Act goal of a minimum 10% of European endogenous lithium production
from 2030. Savannah is being supported in its development goals by its
strategic partner and largest shareholder AMG Critical Materials N.V., the
global critical materials business.

 

Savannah is focused on the responsible development and operation of the
Barroso Lithium Project so that its impact on the environment is minimised and
the socio-economic benefits that it can bring to all its stakeholders are
maximised.

 

The Company is listed and regulated on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative
Investment Market (AIM) and trades under the ticker "SAV".

 1  (#_ftnref1) See Note 11 in the Interim results for the six months ended 30
June 2024 for further details on the acquisition of the Aldeia Mining Lease.

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